TrekWars MACO Commando 2:Resistance at Fort Apache
by admiraljoshhar
Summary: The MACOs are on their next mission- and some are still dealing with painful memories and ghosts from the past. Also: Introducing Shark Squad! Part of my Trek Wars universe
1. Characters, crawl, and prologue

**AN: Okay, here's the first part. I'll try to update bi-weekly, if i can. My character list is a bit basic, and i'll add/delete characters as i go on, so please bear with me. And so, without further adieu, here is:**

TREK WARS: ALLIANCE COMMANDO

Book Two: Shark/Alpha Squad- Resistance at Fort Apache

Dramatis Personae:

Lt. Col. Ed "Boss" Carroll: C.O. of **Shark squad**, former C.O. of Beta Squad, promoted and reassigned at the end of Operation Dust.

Major Jaina "Saber" Solo: Executive Officer of **Shark squad**, promoted and transferred from Alpha squad at the end of Operation Dust, Jedi Knight who joined the MACOs so she could eliminate Darth Caedus as a threat to her family and the galaxy as a whole.

Doctor Jocelyn "Bones" McCoy: Medic of **Shark squad**, Great-Granddaughter of Admiral Leonard McCoy, named after his former wife, followed his example and became a surgeon, albeit a battlefield surgeon. Proficient with most forms of weapons.

Captain Soran: Vulcan Member of **Shark squad**, a MACO who was also originally part of Beta Squad.

Jerala Serek: Alderaanian member of **Shark squad**

Major Tom "Gunny" Rogers-Skirata: C.O. of **Alpha squad**, a weapons expert promoted at the end of Operation Dust, weapons expert, proficient in most forms of H2H combat. A Dominion War Orphan, he was adopted by Mandalorian training Sergeant Fi Skirata.

Captain "Trapper" Sken: Executive Officer of **Alpha squad**, as well as medic and unofficial "clown," promoted at the end of Operation Dust

Jex Farren: Corellian member of **Alpha squad**

T'lera: Romulan member of **Alpha squad**

Essen: Tolarian member of **Alpha squad**

Commander John York: C.O. of **Apache Outpost** 05

John Cochise: Member of the **Apache resistance**, scout and guide for Outpost 05.

Sarah Runningbear: Leader of the **Apache resistance**, wife of the late Major Runningbear of Alpha squad.

Opening Crawl:

In the midst of an intra-galactic War, the MACOs of Alpha and Beta squad have done well. In fact, two of their members have gone on to become the new leader and executive officer of the re-built Shark squad, the most elite among all Alliance Officers.

They were successful in Operation: Dust, but not without heavy cost. The mighty Hawkeye has fallen, as have Chief, Tex Ridder, and Jon Ton.

Now, immediately after the Operation, what's left of the two squads is on its way to a rendezvous with their new team members, and from there, to a small war torn world known to its natives as Apache…

Prologue

"We can't take much more of this sir!" Commander Syler Johnston said to his Commanding Officer, Captain Mark Styles. Styles was a descendent of the first Captain of the _Excelsior_, who was famous only as the one who failed to recapture the USS _Enterprise_ after it was stolen by then-Admiral James T. Kirk. Styles was determined to clear his family's name. So far though, he wasn't doing a very good job.

They were at Outpost 01 on the planet Alto Five, which the natives called "Apache" after the Native American tribe they had descended from. The outpost was one of five that had once been located on the planet, built during the Dominion war. Now, though, only two remained, the other three having been wiped out altogether by invading Imperials. Only this and the isolated Outpost Five remained on the planet.

They were currently under siege by over 100 Imperial Stormtroopers, and had been under siege for days. They had only a few dozen officers left, and they were quickly running out of food and ammunition. They were on a desert planet with only a few scattered oases, and though the outpost was near one of these, they were unable to reach it, as the Imperials had already cut it off from them and destroyed the outpost's shuttle. What few officers they still had were worn out, and Styles knew in his heart that they couldn't win. Still, though, he was determined that he be remembered as a hero.

"Keep on fighting, Commander!" Styles ordered, grabbing his dusty rifle. "This outpost stood up to the Cardassians and the Jem'Hadar! We won't be defeated by the measly forces of the Empire!"

He hoisted his rifle to his shoulder, where a bloody patch covered a blaster burn. With the assistance of the Commander, he climbed to the top of the tower on the wall and took aim at an attacking Imperial below. He pulled the trigger, and the red phaser beam found a joint in the Stormtrooper's white armor. The trooper collapsed, but one of his companions took aim at where the shot had come from and returned fire.

Styles saw the shot coming, and tried to dodge it, but was too slow. The blast hit him in the chest. The force of the shot pushed him back, into Johnston's arms.

"Did we…win?" Styles asked weakly, his brain shutting down. "Will they remember me as a hero?"

"Yes sir," Johnston lied, easing his CO's death.

"Good," Styles said as he breathed his last.

Johnston lowered Styles to the floor of the tower, and then looked at the other officers along the wall, still doggedly fighting the enemy. One of them manned a Phaser Turret, the only one in the outpost that was still functioning. It fired a blast at an incoming enemy TIE fighter and hit it, but then it sizzled and died with the next pull of the trigger, out of energy.

With the shield down and no more turrets, they were easy prey for the TIEs and gunships that approached regularly to determine whether or not it was safe to attack.

"Well men, that's it," Johnston said sadly.

Within an hour, several troop carriers landed, escorted by TIE fighters, and the Stormtroopers poured out like ants. A few officers still tried to resist, and were killed for their effort, succeeding only in delaying the inevitable. As for Johnston, he entered the base's secret Communication's Center, untouched by the assault. Unlike the base's regular comm. center which had long since been destroyed, the secret center could send only one final emergency message, which Johnston recorded. He finished the message as five Stormtroopers blasted through the door and leveled their blasters at him.

"Surrender!" the leader barked.

"I surrender," Johnston replied as he surreptitiously pressed a button marked "SEND."

Outpost one had fallen, and now the only hope for the planet lay in the hands of Commander John York of Outpost Five, the remotest and most primitive of the original five outposts. The Outpost that was known to the natives as Fort Apache.

**Thanks for reading. As always, i appreciate reviews. And yes, I was strongly inspired by John Ford's Fort Apache starring John Wayne.**


	2. Chapter 1

**Okay, here goes. In this chapter, i'll re introduce a few characters, as well as bring in a few familiar faces. Enjoy!**

Chapter One

Ed Carroll looked over his dress uniform, eyeing it as if it were a Stormtrooper with a blaster at the ready. Like most soldiers, he hated dress uniforms, and it was even worse now that he was a Lieutenant Colonel. The only thing he admired about the uniform was the dress sabre, attached to the uniform as a salute to the old-style United States Marines, which was a predecessor of the MACOs.

"Oh, it's not that bad," said Tex Ridder, his best friend and executive officer. "Besides, just think what Jaina's gonna think when she sees her boyfriend in that fancy getup!"

"True," Ed acknowledged, finally pulling the uniform out of his closet. It was then that he realized something was wrong. He said so.

"What, with the uniform, or with you?" Tex asked with a wide grin.

"Neither," Ed replied seriously. "There's something wrong with you."

"Aw, I'm hurt that you think so!" Tex said with mock pain.

"You shouldn't be here," Ed insisted.

"Oh?" Tex replied. "And just where should I be? At the ceremony?"

"No, not there either," Ed answered sadly as he realized the truth. "You shouldn't be anywhere. You're dead."

With that statement, Ed shot out of his bed, his body soaked with sweat. This was the tenth nightmare he'd had since "Operation: Dust", the mission that had won him his new rank, the Alliance Eagle medal that lay with his dress uniform in his closet, and his new girlfriend, Jaina Solo. The mission in which he had lost his best friend.

Ed was in his quarters aboard an Alliance Battleship, the USS _Enterprise_ NCC-1701-F, en route to a rendezvous with a freighter that would take them the rest of the way to Apache. They had been in hyperspace for four days now, as they had departed immediately after an award ceremony for the participants of the successful mission to capture the Empire's new _Ultra_ class Star Destroyer. The mission had started out without major difficulty, and would have continued to do so, had it not been for the unexpected appearance of the Sith Darth Caedus, formerly the Jedi Knight and Galactic Alliance Guard leader Colonel Jacen Solo. He had killed three good men, including Tex, before he was driven off by Jaina Solo. And Ed had not slept peacefully since then.

Ed got out of bed, wiping the sleep out of his eyes. If he couldn't sleep anyway, he reasoned, he might as well get up.

He took a sonic shower and pulled a clean uniform out of the replicator, which he put on. The MACO casual uniform was basically a black camo tunic with a unit patch on the right shoulder, a MACO insignia on the left shoulder, and a rank insignia on the collar. Ed still wasn't used to the new Shark squad patch or the Lieutenant Colonel's star on his collar.

He stepped out into the corridor, which was empty, as it was only 0500 hours, and Alpha shift didn't start until 0900. He made his way down to the lounge, which for some reason said "Ten Forward" on the door. He entered, noticed that only a few others were in the lounge at this hour, and found an empty table to sit at.

He was approached by a waiter, and he ordered black coffee. As it was brought to him, the door opened to reveal Captain Soran, the Vulcan who had been transferred along with him to Shark Squad. Soran noticed him at the table, arched an eyebrow, and moved to join him.

He sat down across from Ed.

"What, you can't sleep either?" Ed asked.

"Actually I slept quite well sir," Soran replied calmly. "As a Vulcan, I do not require as much sleep as a human. I have made it a custom to awaken at 0500 on a starship, as it allows me to become familiar with the crew as they awaken and come for breakfast."

"I see," Ed replied sleepily.

"Are you having trouble sleeping Colonel?" Soran asked.

"What gave you your first clue?" Ed answered sarcastically.

"The fact that you are present at this early an hour," Soran replied matter-of-factly. "I have noticed that your usual time of awakening is much later, except in an emergency."

"I take it you don't yet understand the human concept of sarcasm," Ed observed.

"I do not," Soran acknowledged. "If I may ask a question?"

"Seems to me that you just did," Ed replied, then realized the humor would escape the Vulcan. "Never mind, just go ahead and ask."

"Is your inability to sleep connected with the death of Mister Ridder?"

"Probably," Ed replied, taking a sip of his coffee.

"I see," Soran said. "Perhaps you should speak to the ship's counselor."

"I don't need a shrink!" Ed exclaimed angrily. He noticed that he had drawn the attention of the bartender, and quieted down. "I appreciate your trying to help, but really, I'm fine!"

"If you insist, Colonel," Soran conceded.

"How many times do I have to tell you?" Ed asked. "No ranks when we're off duty!" Ed replied.

"Of course, _sir_," Soran corrected.

"Close enough," Ed said as he drained his coffee and stood up. "I'm going down to the holodeck. Try and wake myself up."

"Very well, sir. I will see you at 1200."

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Ed approached the holodeck, expecting it to be empty. Instead, though, he found that a program was still running. He checked to see if entry was permitted, found it was, and walked through the door… and into a Victorian era apartment, decorated with what appeared to be ancient lab equipment. Standing in front of a desk with his back turned was a man wearing clothing from the era.

The man turned, and looked at Ed.

"Is there something I can do for you, Colonel?" asked Captain Data. He wore a white button up shirt beneath a vest, and was, with the exception of his artificial skin and golden eyes, the perfect image of the eccentric detective Sherlock Holmes, whom he was acting as in the holo-program.

"I didn't realize anyone would still be on the holodeck at this hour," Ed replied.

"As an android, I do not require sleep," Data explained. "I often spend this hour on the holodeck. Were I to find you here, I might ask you the same question."

"I couldn't sleep," Ed said, shrugging it off. "I figured I'd come down and work out a little while I waited. What program is this? I recognize it as ancient Earth from something I saw in a history file at the academy, but beyond that, I have no idea."

"This is ancient Earth," Data affirmed. "Specifically Victorian England, late 1800s and early 1900s. It is a program based on the novels of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle about a private detective named Sherlock Holmes."

"I see," Ed said, not quite understanding.

"You wonder, I am sure, what use an android has for recreation," Data observed.

"Well, honestly, yes."

"I am not the same type of android you would find in your own galaxy, with a few exceptions," Data explained. "I was programmed to learn, and to expand beyond my original programming. In every sense of the word, I am as alive as you or any other person on this ship."

"And how do you define 'alive'?" Ed asked the android as Data sat down.

"I consume oxygen and excrete byproducts, though not in the same fashion as humans, I think, I am creative, I dream, and I procreate," Data answered.

"_Procreate_?" Ed exclaimed. "Forgive me, but I think I'd have heard about it if there were any little half-Data's running around."

"You misunderstand me, Colonel," Data explained. "I did not create my daughter in the usual human fashion. I built Lal, basing her positronic net off of my own. Unfortunately, she developed emotions too quickly, and she died due to a cascade failure."

"I'm, uh, sorry to hear that," Ed said. "Anyhow, the reason I came down here was…"

"_Captain Data, Colonel Carroll, Major Skirata to the Bridge_," interrupted the voice of the shift officer.

"I think that's us," Ed said.

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Ed and Data walked onto the Bridge, and were soon followed by Major Tom "Gunny" Skirata, Alpha Squad's CO. Data had removed the Victorian clothing to reveal his Starfleet Uniform beneath it. He sat down in the center seat.

"Report," he ordered the watch officer.

"The freighter _Wild Karrde_ has arrived early," the officer reported. "They are hailing us."

"The _Wild Karrde_ is the freighter that's taking us to Apache, isn't it?" Gunny observed.

"It is indeed, Major," Data acknowledged. "Onscreen Lieutenant."

The bearded face of Talon Karrde appeared on the forward screen.

"Sorry for calling at such an early hour," Karrde began. "One of our contracts fell through, so we had a little extra time on our hands."

Karrde was a mercenary, though he was very picky about who he worked for, and he never worked with the Empire since the Sith took over. When asked why this was, he shrugged and replied that they were "too unreliable."

The truth was, though, that he had dealt with Darth Vader when he was in control, and even with Thrawn. Vader had double-crossed him, though, and Thrawn had been removed from power. Since then, he had mostly taken on contracts for the Alliance or neutral powers, doing things from simple trading to blockade running, price dependent, of course.

"Whenever the MACOs are ready to beam over, we're ready for them," Karrde finished.

"Very well," Data acknowledged. He turned to the two MACOs at the back of the bridge. "How soon can you be ready to transport?"

"Give us half an hour to get our gear together," Ed replied for both squads.

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Exactly half an hour later, five MACOs stood on the _Enterprise_'s main transporter platform, their gear setting beside them. In front were Ed and Gunny, behind them stood Jaina Solo, Soran, and "Trapper" Sken.

"Energize," Ed ordered. The five and their equipment dissolved into the transporter beam. A moment later, they resolidified on the transporter platform of the _Wild Karrde_. It was an older model, bought from Starfleet surplus. The same model was once used on the _Enterprise_ D.

"Welcome aboard the private freighter _Wild Karrde_, said a feminine voice as they got their bearings. "I'm Doctor Jocelyn McCoy. Which one of you is Colonel Carroll?"

"That'd be me," Ed answered as he stepped off the platform.

"Then I'm reporting for duty as a member of Shark squad sir," she said as she saluted him. He returned the salute.

"Don't we also have another member of the squad here somewhere?" Ed asked.

"Actually, I'm not sure where Mister Serek is," McCoy replied. "He was called to the transporter room ten minutes ago."

As if on cue, the door opened and a man plowed through it, his uniform wrinkled as if it had just been thrown on. And actually, it had. Jerala Serek was an Alderaanian who had been off planet when the first Death Star destroyed is world. He had quickly joined the rebellion, and had excelled to the point that he became one of their best commandoes. When the Alliance had formed and the MACOs had opened up to all comers, Serek had immediately signed up, and again excelled. However, he had one habit that had kept him from ever leading his own squadron. He was a drunk. The reason he had been late was that he had not heard the alarm over his hangover induced sleep.

"Mister Serek, I presume?" Ed said distastefully.

"Yes sir," he said. "Sorry I'm late sir."

"Just don't let it happen again," Ed replied.

"Where's the rest of my squad?" Gunny asked.

"Well, we've run into a problem," McCoy replied. "The rendezvous with the rest of the team never happened. The ship carrying the other Alphas was delayed at their last stopover, and told us to go on. They said they'd meet us on the way back."

"Oh great!" Gunny exclaimed sarcastically.

"Well, what do you expect when I'm dumb enough to subcontract Ferengi," said a voice from the door. It was Talon Karrde. "Sorry I wasn't here to meet you, I had to transport some cargo over to the _Enterprise_ before we got underway."

"So we're on our way now?" Gunny asked.

"Yes, and we should have your team aboard within a few hours," Karrde replied. "In the mean time, I'm sure Doctor McCoy can show you to your quarters, and you can feel free to make use of my ship's rec deck while you wait."

"Thank you," Ed said for them all.

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Four hours later, they rendezvoused with the Ferengi that were transporting the three Alphas. The three beamed aboard, reported in, and stowed their gear. Within twenty minutes, they were finally underway.

**Here we go... As always, thank you for reading. I welcome reviews, questions, comments, criticisms, etc.**


	3. Chapter 2

**Here's chapter two. I'm not sure if anyone has started reading this yet, but i hope you like it. Please read and review, and any suggestions are appreciated.**

Chapter Two

"Now that we're all here, we're ready for the mission briefing," Ed said as Serek sat down in the back of the _Wild Karrde_'s rec deck, which the MACOs were currently using as a conference room. "Doctor McCoy has already been briefed by command, so she'll host the briefing."

McCoy walked up to the front of the room as Ed sat down. She began speaking.

"Last week, an emergency transmission was received from Outpost 01 on Alto Five, better known as Apache. As you may or may not know, this planet is where the Native American tribe known as the Apache resettled a few years before the Dominion War. The Federation established five outposts on the planet during the war, and they stood up to both Cardassian and Jem'Hadar assault. However, the planet is no longer of major strategic value, and the outposts became understaffed. And now, for some reason, the Empire has chosen to attack the planet, and have already destroyed three outposts. If you'll divert your attention to the holo projector."

McCoy gestured towards the dish shaped projector as the room darkened. A hologram of Commander Johnston appeared on it. He began speaking.

"_This is Apache Outpost One. We are under heavy assault, and cannot stand much longer. Captain Styles is dead, and please let the record show that he died heroically, defending this base with his last breath. We do not know why the Empire wants this planet, but now, with the exception of Outpost Five and the desert regions it protects, they have it. We cannot be saved, but Outpost 5 may be savable. There is also a native resistance brewing in the desert, with Commander York's approval and help. But as we ran out of supplies, so are they. We need help! Outpost 5 needs help! Please send…_"

A large noise was heard, and Johnston turned towards it. An Imperial Stormtrooper came on the screen and ordered Johnston's surrender.

"_I surrender_," were his last words before the transmission ended.

The lights came back up, and the MACOs directed their attention back toward McCoy.

"We have been directed to bring supplies to Apache, and we are the only force that the Alliance could divert to the planet," she explained. "As far as we know, the planet has little strategic value to the Empire, but they have blockaded it with a small force nonetheless. That is why we've hired Captain Karrde to run the blockade and get us, as well as some relief supplies, to Outpost Five. We will receive further assignments from Commander John York when and if we arrive. There's also something you should know about the planet itself. It has very rough terrain, and travel by traditional means are impractical, at best. In fact, the primary method of transportation on Apache has become, believe it or not, the horse."

This brought on a look of interest from Ed.

McCoy sat down, and Ed took the front once more.

"Are there any questions?" he asked. There were none. "Good. Now one question from me: who here besides me has ever ridden a horse?"

Gunny and McCoy raised their hands, but the others did not.

"Looks like we have our work cut out for us," Ed observed.

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The _Wild Karrde_ dropped out of warp as it neared the blockade.

"All hands to battlestations!" Karrde ordered. The lights on the bridge dimmed, and the crew complied with his orders. All over the freighter, the crew sat or stood, ready to run the blockade. With any luck, there would be no shots fired at all as the freighter tried to slip through. But if they were noticed, they had to be ready to shoot as they traveled past the blockade and onto Apache.

"We've found a hole in the blockade sir," said Buck Aves, Karrde's Exec.

"It's not the rat trap, is it?" Karrde asked, referring to a small hole in the blockade that Imperial ships nearly always left as a trap for would-be blockade runners.

"Now boss, don't you know me better than that?" Aves replied. "No, I found _both_ of their traps. This is one they don't know's there."

"All right then, engage sensor blind and let's go!" Karrde ordered.

There was no physical change in the ship, but it had nevertheless changed. The sensors of the blockade ships could no longer pick them up. For the next few minutes, they were visible only to the naked eye.

The ship moved forward at one quarter speed. The blind would be active up to half speed, but Karrde preferred to play it safe except when he was in a hurry, which he wasn't. They held their breaths as they passed in between a cruiser and a _Victory_ class Star Destroyer, but they went by unnoticed. Finally they cleared the blockade, and they all breathed a sigh of relief.

All except Karrde.

"That was too easy," he observed. And he was proven right when an Imperial TIE fighter on patrol spotted them and fired their lasers. Immediately, the Destroyer and the cruiser swung around, bringing their guns to bear on the still close _Wild Karrde_.

"Evasive maneuvers!" Karrde ordered. "Shut down the sensor blind and bring our shields up! Gunners, target that eyeball and swat it, then aim for the cruiser!"

The crew didn't acknowledge his orders, they didn't have time. They merely complied, and did as he said without question. A stream of fire from the _Wild Karrde_ struck the single fighter that pursued them and it exploded. The fire then diverted to the cruiser, aiming for its weapons and engines.

Meanwhile, the Destroyer had begun launching its own fighters to dog the freighter.

"Cap, we're receiving a transmission from that destroyer," one of his officers informed him.

"Put him on," Karrde ordered.

"_This is the Star Destroyer Eviscerator to the captain of the fly that slipped through my blockade\_," came the voice over the channel.

"This is the _Wild Karrde_, you've got our ear," Karrde replied.

"_Surrender immediately and you and your crew may survive_," the Imperial stated haughtily.

Karrde laughed.

"Yeah right!" he exclaimed. "I know what Imps do to blockade runners!"

"_I will swat you like the fly that you are!"_the Imperial replied angrily.

"Yes, but have you ever noticed that flies don't actually get hit all that much?" Karrde replied with a rogue grin. He slashed his finger along his throat, telling his comm. officer to cut the transmission.

"Execute evasive, and get us down to the planet," Karrde ordered.

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The _Wild Karrde_ entered the planet's atmosphere under fire from the Star Destroyer, but not the cruiser, which had been forced to withdraw when their weapons were disabled. As for the TIEs, they had never left the hanger as Jaina used her force abilities to guide a shadow torpedo directly into it. Karrde would not explain where he got a shadow or how he planned on using it without a Jedi, but it had worked and they weren't asking questions. As they passed the point at which the Destroyer could no longer follow, Karrde reactivated the sensor blind and diverted his course while still in the heat of the atmosphere. Without shields, this was a dangerous maneuver, but they pulled it off.

The freighter finally left the atmosphere over one of the planet's most remote areas, with only one small oasis for a thousand kilometers all around. To Ed, it was just like coming home to Tatooine, complete with the scattered moisture farms his trained eye spotted as they descended.

Finally, they spotted the lone Outpost in the distance, accentuated by the small oasis that it protected. They also spotted the battalion of Imperial Stormtroopers assaulting the base and the smoking hulk that was all that remained of the Outpost's shuttle.

"Take us down by those troops and fire on them," Karrde ordered. "We can only get the ones that aren't too close to the walls, so if you want them gone, you MACOs'll have to go get them yourself."

"Roger," Ed replied as he left the bridge. He went to his quarters and grabbed his gear, quickly donning his armor and helmet as he traveled to the ship's ventral cargo bay. Once there, he met the other MACOs, who were also putting on the last of their armor.

"Let's go!" Ed shouted to Shark squad.

"_K'oyacyi_!" Tom exclaimed in the Mandalorian tongue he had learned from his adopted father and training Sergeant, Fi Skirata. The term had almost become a motto for the Alpha's.

"Hey Jaina," Ed asked his XO and girlfriend, who had recently been a member of the Alphas.

"Yeah?" she replied as she clipped her lightsabre to her belt.

"What's '_K'oyacyi_' mean anyway?"

"Well, it actually has a few different meanings," she replied. "But in this case, it basically means 'let's go,' or 'let's ride.'"

"I like it," Ed said as he lifted his helmet. "Buckets on boys and girl, and _let's ride_!"

With that, the cargo bay door opened in front of them, and, one by one, they dropped the twenty feet to the desert ground below them.

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	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Gunny dropped down from the freighter into an oven. Or at least that's how it felt, coming from the cool of the cargo bay. Of course, their armor had limited environmental control, and the air conditioning was already circulating at the maximum possible efficiency. That was not enough, though. The temperature readout said that it was 110 degrees fahrenheight outside the suit, and he could feel it.

His sight was currently obstructed by the dust thrown up by the _Wild Karrde_'s exhaust, and it was too hot to use thermal vision, so he switched to infrared vision. The IR made a different spectrum visible, allowing him to see farther and clearer. What he saw didn't surprise him. He saw the many bodies of the Stormtroopers firing superheated laser blasts at the Starfleet officers behind the wall of the fortified outpost.

Gunny grabbed his rifle and began firing at the troops. He nearly pulled the trigger at one of the new Shark squad men, but stopped short as his HUD finally informed him that this was a friendly. Gunny growled at the man's stupidity- he had waited too long to activate his friend/foe helmet-to-helmet beacon. Gunny noted the man's name, Serek, and continued firing on the Stormtroopers. He continued firing as the dust slowly cleared. The _Wild Karrde_ had moved more to the center of the incoming troopers and was firing into them, forcing the troops to retreat.

As the dust continued to clear, Gunny saw Ed firing, and they met each other's eyes. In that look, it was made clear that Ed shared his disapproval for the new man. Finally, the Imperial's broke their assault and retreated back to their forward command center, which was under attack by the _Wild Karrde_. A cheer arose from inside the walls of the Outpost as the Starfleeters realized that the attack was over, for now, at least.

The _Karrde_ broke off the assault on the command post as its anti-ship weapons finally started firing on the attacking freighter. The _Karrde_ lifted over the MACOs and hovered over them as a crewman dropped a line. The MACOs climbed aboard the ship. The _Karrde_ then lifted up above the walls, unhindered by the anti-ship weaponry, and hovered over the hatch. A few moments passed, then the shields went down briefly and the hatch opened. The _Wild Karrde _dropped through it, and it closed behind them. The freighter landed on a large central platform next to a battered shuttlecraft and some speeder bikes.

The _Wild Karrde_'s primary hatch lowered, and Talon Karrde, followed by the MACOs and his XO, walked down it. Standing there waiting for them were two men and a woman in dusty Starfleet uniforms.

"Boy are we glad to see you guys!" said the first of them. He was a tall, broad shouldered man with a patch over one eye and three pips on his collar, indicating the rank of Commander. He offered his hand, which Karrde gripped. "I'm Commander John York, and this is my Exec, Lieutenant Commander Sarah Kobek and my quartermaster, Covar Selton."

"I'm Captain Talon Karrde of the freighter _Wild Karrde_," Talon replied. He gestured towards Buck. "This is my XO, Buck Aves. I presume your quartermaster will be happy to hear that your supplies are ready and waiting to be delivered."

"That is good news," the quartermaster replied, taking a PADD from Buck that listed an inventory of all the cargo.

Meanwhile, Ed and Gunny stepped forward. Ed started off, as he was the senior officer.

"I'm Lieutenant Colonel Ed Carroll," he said as he saluted. "Shark and Alpha squads reporting for duty, sir."

"Welcome to Fort Apache, gentlemen," York replied. "Why don't you all come with me to my office, and we'll get the briefing underway. You're welcome to attend, if you want, Captain Karrde."

"With all due respect, sir, civilians are not usually permitted to attend official briefings," Soran interrupted.

"Well, this isn't an official briefing," York replied. "I'll explain there."

"If that's the case, I'd kind of like to hear what's up," Karrde said as he left the landing bay with them.

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On their way to his office, York gave them an abbreviated tour of the outpost. He explained that the base was enclosed with a dome to keep the hot air out of the enclosed fort. This kept the officers posted at the outpost from boiling, but the temperature was still higher than average Earth temperatures. York also showed them the arboretum, the most frequented area of the outpost on off-duty hours. The arboretum was the only temperature regulated area, and it featured plants from many different planets, as well as a constantly flowing waterfall and pond supplied by the underground river that fed all of the oases on the planet. It was a small amount, and it was carefully conserved, so nobody could swim in it or drink directly from it, but it was nice to sit by and just relax to the sound of the waterfall. York said that he himself spent much time beside this pond, but due to the siege, he had been unable to visit it recently.

York also gave them a tour of the Outpost's armory, weapons facility and power reactor room. Finally, he took them to the command center and his office.

"Have a seat," York offered, gesturing to the two chairs in front of his desk and the couch along the wall. Most of the MACOs remained standing, but Talon and Trapper both sat, Trapper putting his boots up on the table in front of his desk.

"The rest of us will stand, if you don't mind, sir," Ed said.

"Whatever you feel like," York said. "Let's get down to business. Starfleet can't hold this planet for much longer, and two squads of MACOs, no matter how good, can't change that, no offense intended, of course."

"None taken," McCoy replied for them. "But Shark squad did manage to hold Geonosis, if it's all the same to you."

"Yes," York acknowledged, "but Geonosis was important to the Alliance because of the droid factories, so you had back-up. Apache has little or no strategic value since the Cardassians pulled out of the war. We don't even know why the Empire wants the cursed place."

"With all due respect sir," Ed interrupted, "if you really believe we can't make a difference, why did you ask for us?"

"I didn't say you couldn't make a difference," York pointed out as he stood. He walked over to the replicator. "Whiskey," he said, and a bottle of whiskey formed in the device. "You boy's want anything?"

"I'll have some…" Serek began.

"We're fine, thank you," Ed cut him off. "You were saying?"

"During the Dominion War, this planet had strategic value, being close to the Cardassian border," he began again as he sat down, pouring some whiskey into a shot glass. "Now, as I said, Starfleet and the Alliance as a whole don't see any value in it. However, to the natives, this planet is home, as much as the Southwest on Earth was home to their ancestors. They are the ones that have asked Starfleet to remain here to defend them. But ever since the war began, natives have been slowly disappearing. Now we know why.

"This native's are being used as slave labor. Now, we don't know yet what they're building, but whatever it is, it's big. Outpost one tried to stop them, but they're gone now. We're too isolated to help them now. So they need to help themselves. The natives on this planet have set up a resistance movement against the Empire."

"So? What's that got to do with us?" Serek asked.

"They need a little assistance from you, some training, if you will," York explained.

"Are we talkin' about the same people that produced the Chief?" Trapper asked incredulously. "If so, I'm sure they don't need us to show 'em how to fight."

"No, they know how to fight just as their ancestors fought," York clarified. "What they need help with is organization and weapons training."

"Is the Alliance supplying them?" McCoy asked, more familiar with guerrilla warfare than the others.

"No, I'm supplying them with whatever this outpost can spare," York replied. "These people have had a hard life. First Earth abandoned them to the Cardassians, who of course oppressed them, then the Dominion fought them and Earth finally came back, then the Federation pulled out relief supplies from the Dominion War when the current war started. Half of these were wiped out when they joined the Maquis resistance. And yet they're still willing to fight for their homes. I say we owe them our help."

"So you want us to train them, to organize them?" Gunny asked for clarification.

"Yes I do," York replied.

"Why us?" Soran wanted to know. "Why did you not choose one of your own men to train them?"

"Well, that's where it gets complicated," York said. "You see, this isn't an official mission. Also, we need you to do a little stealthy recon work, and Page's Commandoes weren't available."

Page's Commandoes were famous throughout the galaxy. They were the New Republic's analogue to the MACOs, but went on only missions they chose. They were made up of all three different divisions of Republic officers, the navy, fighter pilots, and ground assault forces. They were in heavy demand to pull off missions, so it was understandable that they weren't available.

"Basically," York continued, "we need you to find out why the Empire wants the planet."

Ed leaned over and whispered into Jaina's ear.

"All this is fascinating, but I just wanna fight someone," he said, and Jaina grinned.

"Something you want to add, Mister Carroll?" York said irritably.

"No sir, just getting a little anxious to whoop some stormy cans sir," Ed replied.

"You'll get your chance, Colonel," York replied. "In the meantime, get some desert gear together. Let my quartermaster know anything you need. As for you, Mister Karrde, I've been asked to approach you as to the possibility of offering your services to the resistance movement. They need someone to teach them how to, well…"

"Smuggle? Run guns?" Karrde offered.

"Yes," York said matter-of factly. "And they asked me to assure you that you will be sufficiently compensated for your troubles."

"I'll do it," Karrde said. "I'll have Buck take the _Wild Karrde_ to it's next stop, and I'll stick around here."

"So it's settled, then," York said as he stood. "One of my scouts can take you out as soon as you're ready."

"Give us an hour to grab our gear and pack it on a horse, which I'm assuming is what we'll be taking," Ed said.

"You're right," York confirmed. "Two horses will pull a covered equipment sled, but you'll have to ride in the saddle."

"Got it," Ed acknowledged. "I've been teaching my boys- and Jaina- to ride on Karrde's holosuite."

"That's good," York said. "Because for a while, that's all you'll have."


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N: Sorry 4 the long wait for these chapters, i just moved to New York, took me a while to settle in. But rest assured, a lot more is coming! Enjoy!**

Chapter 4

"Mount up boys!" Ed ordered as he pulled himself into the saddle. He had ridden a horse before, while on leave with Tex before Earth was captured and again on the holodeck en route to Apache. He was wearing desert camo gear with a pack and his gear in the saddle bag of his horse. The horse was an Arabian mare, and was a well trained magnificent creature. Ed patted it's neck as he settled. Then he looked at the others.

Of all of his team, only McCoy had more experience on a horse than he, and that was obvious as everybody else struggled to mount their steeds.

Jocelyn McCoy was indeed well experienced with horses. After all, she was from the south, and her family was very old fashioned, at the insistence of her great-grandfather, the original Doctor Leonard "Bones" McCoy, late of Starfleet Medical and the first _starship Enterprise_. She had known him throughout her childhood as a frail, yet still vibrant, old man. He had encouraged her to enter Starfleet medicine, but had died before he could see it happen. Many mourned his passing, and his funeral had many famous attendees, such as Ambassadors Picard and Spock, Captain Scott, and many, many others whom McCoy had known throughout his long life.

As it turned out, his passing had been what finally moved her to apply to the academy, and she was sponsored by, of all people, Ambassador Spock. So she had joined Starfleet and trained as a Doctor. When the war began soon thereafter, though, Jocelyn trained also to be a soldier, and she discovered that she was a crackshot with a blaster pistol. It was then that she decided to become a battlefield medic. Having already become a full Doctor before joining the MACOs, she was a senior battlefield medic. And when the first leader of the elite Shark squad died from injuries that could have been treated by a medic, the squads next leader requested a medic be added to her team, and "Bones" McCoy was that medic.

She and the original Shark squad had survived countless missions together, due much to her inclusion. However, it did not last forever.

Only a short time ago, Shark squad had been given another impossible mission- one that most of them would not return from. They had been sent alone to investigate rumors of activity on the abandoned, yet still dangerous, Geonosis, sight of the battle that began the Echo Galaxy's Clone Wars. The rumors had proved true when the MACOs discovered that the Borg had assimilated the entire Geonosian population, and was using it's droid factories to build a new form of combat droid, one that was nearly invincible, and that would be used to utterly destroy the Alliance ground forces.

Shark squad had reported in, and requested back-up. They had been granted their request, but had also been ordered to stop the construction of the droids. To do this, they had to battle twenty of the droids in addition to four Dark Drones that guarded the facility. Most of the team had been wiped out, but they had succeeded. Of the two that survived, only McCoy remained with the squad. The other had been honorably discharged by the Doctors when he displayed strong signs of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Now, though, they were in a completely different situation, Bones decided. For one, there were two teams, not one; and for another, the enemy force did not have any of the advanced combat droids, as they had killed the twenty and the Alliance forces had bombed the factory out of existence.

She looked around, and smiled as she saw most of them having trouble mounting the tall Arabians. Only Major Skirata and Colonel Carroll had mounted without trouble, followed by Jaina, who quickly adjusted to the horse, calming it with the force while she got on. Soran also quickly adapted to the Stallion he chose, and soon mounted it as if he had ridden a horse a million times before.

Of them all, Trapper seemed to have the most trouble, and McCoy could not restrain her laughter as Trapper finally got on the horse…backwards. Talon Karrde roared with laughter from the equipment sled, and even Trapper himself could not avoid an embarrassed grin. Of them all, only Soran and Serek did not laugh.

"I think there's something wrong with this horse sir," Trapper said, taking advantage of the situation. "He aint got a head!"

"Well, then you have something in common," Ed replied. "Neither of you has a brain!"

Again everybody laughed, and even Soran raised an eyebrow. Only Serek didn't seem to react, as he also finally mounted his horse. McCoy seemed to be the only one to notice this, and resolved to ask the Alderaanian about it.

Eventually, Trapper got himself turned around, and they were ready to depart. By now, as they had planned, it was dark, and they could leave stealthily, unobserved by the Imperials who still camped within two miles of the Outpost. The MACOs departed, following their guide, a native who had introduces himself as John Cochise. Without even saying a word, Cochise had taken the lead, and had set a pace towards what appeared to be the middle of nowhere.

After a while, as they all were tiring, the guide finally stopped.

"We'll camp here," he said as he dismounted.

"It's about time!" Trapper complained jokingly. "My rear end's sorer than a Ferengi on a planet that doesn't use money!"

"Well then, stop complaining about it and get off!" Gunny insisted, himself dismounting.

"Roll out the tents guys and gals, it's gonna be a short night!" McCoy said. She pulled her tent role and sleeping bag off of the sled, and began setting it up. It wasn't the most advanced technology, but, as her great grandfather always said, 'the less advanced the technology, the less the chance of it breaking down.'

As she rolled out her tent, she noticed that the others all had standard issue basic Starfleet-issue survival tents, except for Cochise, who, like her, had an old fashioned pole tent.

Cochise finished his tent first, and immediately entered it, going right to bed. Soran finished next, as he had discovered the most efficient method of building a tent long ago. The others soon followed, and they were all soon asleep. Before she went to bed, though, she noticed Jaina Solo and Colonel Carroll kissing one another before they went to bed in their own tents.

_Solo and Carroll_? She thought incredulously. _Oh well, stranger things have happened_. But she resolved to get the story behind it tomorrow.

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Gunny awoke to the smell of fresh coffee and food. He crawled out of his tent, and saw Cochise, Ed, and Soran sitting around the fire drinking coffee and eating biscuits.

"Are you all up early, or am I up late?" he asked as he moved to join them.

"We woke up an hour ago," Ed replied. "I couldn't sleep, Vulcans don't need to sleep, and Cochise says he always gets up early. Coffee?

"Sure," Gunny replied. Ed poured him a cup of black coffee from the metal pot that had sat on a grate over the fire. Gunny took a sip, expecting Starfleet ration coffee, but was presently surprised to discover that it was not. "Is this real coffee?"

"Straight from the fields at Earth," came a voice from behind him. It was Talon Karrde. "Last stuff left in the sector. Bought it off a neutral merchant who visited Earth a few months back, and didn't realize the value of what he had."

"Did he give you any news about Earth?" Gunny asked, curious about the fate of his birth-parents home planet.

"Nothing more than what you hear on the news every day," Karrde replied. "The people oppressed, overtaxing and assimilation or imprisonment to any who can't pay, and…rumors."

"What sort of rumors?" Ed wanted to know.

"Rumors of a growing resistance movement," Karrde replied. This caught the attention of Cochise.

"A resistance on Earth?" he inquired.

"That's right," Karrde confirmed. "They're very secretive, and their existence is unconfirmed, but rumor has it that they're planning a major raid on the Occupation forces soon."

"That's interesting, if you can believe it," Cochise observed.

"You can believe it all right," came the voice of Jaina from behind them. "What I'm about to tell you is highly classified, and can't go beyond us. I talked to Dad recently. He and Chewie went to Earth in disguise a while ago, and they found the resistance."

"So it _is_ real!" Ed exclaimed. "Way to go Earthers!"

"Yes, it's real," Jaina confirmed once again. "But it's not very large, or well equipped. It started out as many small resistance cells, and, for the most part, it still is. Dad found the Las Angeles resistance first. From there, he found the Denver, Fort Worth, and Dallas cells, which were also large, and brought them all together, along with groups from around the planet. They formed and organized an attack on the Occupation capital in San Francisco, but that fell through when the Occupation somehow found out about it and moved to Rome."

"Why didn't they go to Paris, where the Presidium was?" Cochise asked, referring to where the President of the Federation was formerly based.

"You haven't heard?" Gunny exclaimed. "One of the first things they did after Earth surrendered was to level Paris in an orbital bombardment as a warning to all of Earth."

"I'm sorry, I wasn't aware of that," Cochise said. "It's hard to keep track of the news when the only way to communicate with the outside is through the Outpost, and even that has been jammed now."

"You were saying?" Ed interrupted. "About Frisco? Will they hit Rome now?"

"I doubt it," Jaina replied. "They do have a plan though. I'm not sure what it is, but they have a plan."

"Who has a plan?" Trapper asked as he sleepily exited his tent. "And do I smell caff?"

"Better," Karrde replied, holding a cup out to Trapper. "It's Coffee, straight from Earth. Here you go."

"We were talking about the Resistance on Earth," Gunny told him. "And…"

"SHH!" Cochise interrupted, gripping his phaser pistol tightly. He listened for a moment, and then, without warning, he and Soran both leapt at a dark sphere that was hovering behind one of the tents. Cochise fired a shot into it, and it fell to the ground. Soran picked it up and looked at it briefly.

"It is an Imperial Probe Droid, one of the new Seekers," he declared. "It has been watching us for only a short time, and did not hear our conversation. However, it is likely that the Empire knows we are out here, and will in all probability send a squad after us."

"Then we'd better split," Ed acknowledged. "Trap, go wake the others up, the rest of us will start packing."


End file.
